I Wish I Had Been on the Downed Plane and Died with Those People: IRGC General

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), General Hossein Salami, has apologized for accidentally shooting down a plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines. “I have never been so ashamed in my life. I swear to the Almighty God that I wish I had been on the downed plane and died with those people so that I would not have witnessed this tragedy,” Salami said.

This was reported by nypost.com.

It is recalled that on January 8, a plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed in Iran, resulting in the deaths of 176 people. The passengers included citizens of Iran, Ukraine, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Afghanistan.

Several days later, Iranian authorities admitted that the Boeing 737-800, which was flying from Tehran to Kyiv, was mistakenly shot down by an Iranian missile. They explained that, amid heightened tensions with the United States, the country’s air defense systems had been placed in full combat readiness, and they mistook the aircraft for a hostile target, believing it to be a cruise missile.